It may still seem like it’s just the beginning of 2018, but the Teamsters are already on the ground registering members to vote in advance of the November election to ensure workers’ voices are heard at the ballot box.

As part of March’s Voter Registration Month of Action, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters encouraged locals to use “lost timers” to register members all across the country. Twenty-five locals in 15 states joined in to register members, including Teamsters in Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington.

Even before the union got involved with registering voters, members were hard at work getting Teamster-endorsed candidates elected that will stick up for the rights of workers and ensure hardworking Americans can support their families.

As previously reported in the space, Joint Council 25-endorsed candidates in Illinois emerged as winners in 12 congressional primaries and the gubernatorial primary. Meanwhile, in western Pennsylvania special election, Conor Lamb (D), an ex-federal prosecutor and Marine with strong family ties to the area, prevailed by the thinnest of margins because Teamsters put in the time going workplace to workplace to make sure he did.

Of course, there is still much more work to do. With so many important federal and state elections set for the fall, the Teamsters will be ramping up efforts in the coming months because increased turnout at the ballot box will mean increased sway in the corridors of power.

Workers deserve a better life that allows them to earn a fair living. But it won’t happen without electing lawmakers who put working families first.

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